Whistle while you work

I enjoy what I do, and mostly always have. It’s been nearly two decades since I started working for myself, which roughly splits the two parts of my life as a designer into two tidy divisions, and it’s true, time does fly when you’re having fun. This year went far too fast and was more challenging than I would have wanted, but each day I try to be appreciative of how lucky I am. I get to do what I do on my own terms, and technology largely allows me to do it wherever I choose. These things were unimaginable when I started out. If I were to have a tune to accompany this post and my frame of mind right now, it would be Charmed Life by The Divine Comedy.

“…Well, I’ve never really worried that much about making lots of money and such and I always seem to land upon my feet. And though there’s been some difficult times, the good times were never far behind. I’ve snatched all of my victories from the jaws of defeat…”

It’s that time of the year when most of us are optimistically clinging to what’s left of the rapidly fading Summer. I’m defiantly still wearing shorts and resisting extra layers as the Autumn enroaches in its relentless inevitability, reminding us that things can only get wetter – and colder and darker. As I work today, writing this blog post, and researching for another Pop Art feature, I have beautiful landscapes outside my window, and my background music is mostly birds singing.

A couple of years ago, a friend told me about the Merlin Bird ID phone app by Cornell Lab that can be used to identify birdsong. Living some of the time in semi-rural North Wales I hear a lot of birds and sometimes when I’m at my desk, I leave the app open to see what it can hear around me. To date it’s picked up 51 different species that you can see below, and this doesn’t include the owls that come out at night or the rare Red Kites that I’m aware are also in the area.

 If you fancy seeing what’s flying around you, here are the links to download the free app to your smartphone from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Feel free to comment below on what you find near you. Happy twitching!